Strides in the Night
by Gedia Kacela
Summary: AU in a universe without Arwen. *evil laugh* An Aragorn romance with a female Ranger. Pre-Fellowship. R&R please!


Strides in the Night  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing besides the clothes on my back... well, and a set and a half of the LotR books... but nothing else! Not even Aragorn... *sigh* Wait, I correct myself. I own the character of Rove, whom you'll meet later in the story.  
  
Author's Note: I finally saw The Fellowship of the Ring a week or so ago and fell in love with Strider/Aragorn. So I had to write a story, of course. This is AU in a universe without Arwen. *evil laugh* An Aragorn romance with a female Ranger. Pre-TfotR. Please review and tell me what you think!  
  
***  
  
For as long as he could remember, Strider had been alone. Not that he minded. It was a life he himself chose, not something he had been cursed with. He liked the solitary life of a Ranger. There was no one to pressure him with his past, with who he really was. He was content to just be Strider, not Aragorn. It didn't matter what people thought of him as long as they left him alone.  
  
Strider smiled to himself as he made his way to the corner of the bar. It amused him how people shrank away from his hooded figure. They knew he was a Ranger, and so they feared him. Fools. They knew nothing besides the whispered rumors and gossips that they were told.  
  
A wench brought him a pint, and set it on the table before him with a trembling hand. His own hand shot out and grasped hers. She let out a soft gasp, her widening eyes fixed fearfully on him. With a hidden smile, he loosed her hand and the wench found two gold pieces pressed into her palm. She curtseyed slightly with a whispered thanks and quickly left the table, tucking the gold into her pocket.  
  
From his table, Strider was able to take in his surroundings. It was no different from any other tavern or inn he had visited during his years of roaming. The noise level was a bit louder and the brandy flowed more freely, but besides that...   
  
He was removed from his contemplation when he was joined by a figure dressed similarly to himself. He frowned. "What do you want?" he inquired gruffly, trying to see who had interrupted his solitude.  
  
"Greetings, Strider," the figure addressed him. The voice sounded familiar, but... it couldn't be...  
  
"Rove?" His new companion raised her head, revealing the features he remembered all too well. Long dark hair, shining blue eyes, long thick lashes, high cheekbones, thin delicate lips... it was her.  
  
"You remember me?" A smile played on her lips. "I would have thought you'd forgotten by now."  
  
It took him a moment to reply. "I haven't." He hadn't seen Rove since... longer than he cared to admit. She had saved his life once. It was the first time they had met.   
  
***  
  
It had happened eight years ago. He had been cornered by two trolls with an intent to roast him for supper. It was Rove who had galloped up on her black horse. She had grabbed him and nearly dragged him up behind her and ridden into the depths of the forest before the trolls could figure out what happened.  
  
They had ridden for over an hour before she stopped. After roughly pushing him off, she too descended. She shook her head and her hood fell back, revealing that she was indeed a girl. Up till then, Strider hadn't known the identity of his rescuer. Immediately, he thought her beautiful, much too beautiful to be riding through the forest by herself. "Are you lost?"  
  
"Lost?" She laughed scornfully. "How can I be lost when I have no home?"  
  
"No home?"  
  
"I'm a Ranger." He had stared at her, almost in disbelief. Never had he heard of a female Ranger, but here she stood in front of him. She tossed her head indignantly, framing her face with her mane of dark hair. "What? Don't believe that a female can be a Ranger?"  
  
"I've... never seen one." It was a silly thing to say, but he was enchanted by her and had seemingly lost control of his tongue.  
  
"Well..." she stepped closer. "Now you have." She reached up to move his unruly hair away from his eyes. "You have beautiful eyes, Ranger." Her hand now rested on his chest.  
  
He could barely bring himself to blink, afraid that she would disappear. "My name is Strider."  
  
"And mine is Rove."  
  
He swallowed at her close proximity. It had been a long time since he had felt this way about someone. "Rove..." His mind raced, trying to think of something intelligent to say. "Thank you for saving me." Well, that wasn't exactly intelligent...  
  
"I wouldn't have done it if you weren't cute." She stroked his face once more, standing on tiptoe to kiss him gently. On pure male instinct, he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer and deeper into the kiss. Her hands ran through his hair, grasping handfuls of it.  
  
She was the one to break the kiss. Keeping her eyes locked mischievously on his, she mounted her horse. "Goodbye, my Strider. I will see you again." With that, she galloped further into the forest, and he soon lost sight of her.  
  
***  
  
"I told you I'd see you again." She smiled that same smile at him. "Didn't you believe me?"  
  
"I could hardly convince myself it wasn't a dream."  
  
She laughed huskily. "It was no dream, my Strider." She moved her chair closer.  
  
He leaned forward, reaching out to grasp her hand. "And will you disappear again like a phantom?" With the other hand, he caressed her cheek, still hidden inside the hood.  
  
She squeezed the hand that held hers. It was rough from travel, but the touch was soft as silk. "Not yet, my Strider... not yet."  
  
***  
  
He had led her upstairs to his room after they had talked for hours. Upstairs they continued their conversation, only this time they lay together, wrapped in each other's embrace and tangled in the blankets. They told each other of their separate adventures and wanderings. Each had a similar story.   
  
Rove tucked her head under her lover's chin, her hand resting over his heart. His steady, soothing pulse beat against her slim fingers. He kissed her forehead. "And when will this beautiful phantom I have found slip through my fingers?"  
  
"Who says you found me? I believe you are the one who was found, my Strider."  
  
He chuckled, the sound rumbling in his chest. "Thank you for correcting me." He sighed. "You didn't answer my question."  
  
"Because I do not know the answer." It was a lie. She would leave him when the morning broke, but not a second sooner. And she would find him again, wherever his travels took him.  
  
"Rove?"  
  
She swallowed. "Call me Arriana." It was the first time she had spoken her name to anyone in over ten years.  
  
"Arriana..." He whispered the name as if he were afraid that his voice would ruin the word. She closed her eyes, loving the way her name rolled off his tongue. "Call me Aragorn."  
  
She breathed his name, raising her head to brush her lips against his. He nuzzled her face tenderly, his beard scraping gently against her smooth skin. "Hold me, Aragorn."  
  
He wrapped his arms around her tighter, resolving to not let anything come between them until his beautiful Arriana slipped away of her own will. She let her cheek rest against the strong muscles in his chest. How she hated to leave him. But that was the way of the Rangers.  
  
When Strider woke that morning, he found the place beside him already cold. A note had been carefully folded in his hand. He opened it, reading the slanted handwriting within.  
  
"Aragorn,  
  
Your phantom has left you, but she will return. I will find you when you least expect it, as I always do. Do not forget me, my Strider, or it will break my heart. The memory of your touch will warm me through the coldest night, and the light in your eyes will guide me to your side once again.  
  
Until that moment, I wait with an anxious heart,  
  
Arriana"  
  
Strider re-folded the note and tucked it deep into his pocket. He would not forget, not in a thousand lifetimes. As he left the inn to continue his wanderings, he touched the folded paper in his pocket. "Until then."  
  
Fine 


End file.
